docs we love :: i met the walrus – john lennon interview

Oscar-Nominated Short Film “I Met the Walrus” (John Lennon Interview)

Back in 1969, a 14 year old kid (Jerry Levitan) with a reel-to-reel tape recorder showed up at John Lennon’s hotel room and got to interview him.

It’s amazing how what John Lennon has to say about corporate opposition to the peace movement is just as true now as it was 40 years ago. Likewise, his message of activism is still just as relevant. After watching this film, I felt sad that we lost such a great mind because of a psycho with a handgun.

The pen and ink animation plays off the soundtrack of the interview and uses imagery that’s got a stream-of-consciousness feel to it. It captures both the seriousness of the times, and the playful nature of any discussion with John Lennon.

Keep in mind that Levitan’s (mono) tape recorder and microphone probably weighed at least a good 5 pounds, and that was probably the best gear a kid could own. Cassette tapes weren’t yet in vogue. Laptops, digital, iPods, and so on, were the stuff of science fiction.

This film is directed by Josh Raskin, and was illustrated by James Braithwaite and Alex Kurina.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 2nd, 2009 at 12:40 PM and is filed under FWL BLOG and tagged with activism, alex kurina, art, clemwilson, corporate opposition, current tv, digital illustration, docs, Docs We Love, documentary, film, i am the walrus, i met the walrus, interview, james braithwaite, jerry levitan, john lennon, josh raskin, love, mike horn, stream-of-consciousness, the beatles, yoko ono. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.